Table of Contents
How did the potato get to Ireland?
The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 on the 40,000 acres of land near Cork.
Why did the Irish rely on potatoes?
Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland’s population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.
How did the Irish prepare their potatoes?
The Irish had a peculiar way of cooking potatoes ‘with and without the bone or the moon’ (Wilde 1854:131). This method of cooking the potato pertained to par boiling the potato leaving the core undercooked and was the preferred meal for a labourer with a day’s work to do.
When was the potato introduced to Ireland?
1589
Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 on the 40,000 acres of land near Cork. It took nearly four decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe. Eventually, agriculturalists in Europe found potatoes easier to grow and cultivate than other staple crops, such as wheat and oats.
When did Ireland start eating potatoes?
Why were potatoes important in Ireland?
Why did the Irish eat so many potatoes?
However, as Irish society became poorer and the farms became smaller, then more and more people were forced to depend upon the potato for their food. It was consumed boiled or in the form of potato cakes. The Irish consumed large amounts of potatoes, especially the poor.
What caused the Irish Potato Famine of 1740?
Famine was not new to Ireland. Every few years, there was a partial failure of the potato crop or some natural disaster resulted in a famine. In the 1740’s, an unseasonable frost destroyed the crops in the fields [3].
When were potatoes introduced to the English?
The first, into Spain about 1570 and the second into England between 1585-1590. The Hospital de la Sangre in Seville was buying potatoes as part of their housekeeping as early as 1573. This implies that potatoes were being grown in Spain for a number of years in order to build up stocks.
Did Henry Cavendish bring potatoes to England?
Whatever about Cavendish bringing potatoes to England, we can be quite certain that he was not responsible for introducing the potato to mainland Europe, since more than eight months before, on 26 January 1588, Clusius had received from the Prefect of Mons, two potato tubers which he duly planted.